Tuesday 22 November 2011 20.00 EST
First published on Tuesday 22 November 2011 20.00 EST

Early and forced marriage is a global issue. In September the BBC reported the case of Jessie, a UK national being forced into an underage marriage in Bangladesh, but rescued by the Forced Marriage Unit. In 2007 the Forced Marriage Act was passed, forbidding families from taking people abroad for marriage, seizing passports or intimidating victims (some methods used to force marriages in the UK).

In 2010, the Forced Marriage Unit advised over 1,700 cases, 86% of whom were female. Jasvinder Sanghera was born in the UK and ran away at 15 to escape a marriage. She now heads Karma Nirvana, a UK charity supporting victims and survivors of forced marriage and "honour" based abuse.

Karma Nirvana receives more than 5,00 calls every month to its helpline. Jasvinder implores the UK to co-ordinate efforts to halt the practice with overseas governments by establishing closer links, and emphasises their role to "challenge other governments, when justice and human rights are being threatened". If accused of imposing western values on other cultures, Jasvinder is firm in her response. "Nobody is abusing somebody or oppressing somebody in the name of tradition. Tradition is not an excuse for abuse."

She maintains that speaking out against abuse is not the same as imposing moral judgments. Domestic violence was once given little recognition in the UK, yet awareness raising and enforcing legislation has changed this. In this way, Jasvinder believes early and forced marriage can be stopped, and everybody can play a part. "Talk to your friends about it. Tell people." she urges. "If you know anybody who might be at risk, tell them there is help available. Sign the petitions. Show your support, and we can advocate that."